Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) on December 10 said that the number of terrorist incidents has come down significantly in the last three years, but the threat of radicalization is on the rise, reports The Daily Star. Terrorist activities have decreased 90 percent in the country compared to 2016, it says. However, radicalization has risen in that time, as the Dawahilallah Forum - an extremist propaganda tool of banned militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) - has increased its member base from 550 to 3,000, says the research. The research also found 82 percent terrorists use social media, and 56 percent of the terror suspects were university graduates.
Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammad Javed Patwary and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner Shafiqul Islam in a conference in Dhaka city on December 11 expressed their concern over the weak counter-extremism mechanism inside the prisons across the country, reports New Age. Mohammad Javed Patwary in his speech said “Prisons were the places where extremist suspects or convicts finally landed following the due course of law. I think there is a lot to do in prisons. We did not find any NGO working inside prisons. I believe initiatives should be strengthened to de-radicalize the terrorist or extremism suspects in jail. We should work further in this sector.” Similarly, Shafiqul Islam said that they were lagging behind with respect to the counter-extremism mechanism for those who were arrested or now in the jail. He further said that at least 99 per cent of the arrested and under-trial extremist suspects belonged to the Ahle Hadith community and their senior preachers should be engaged to spread counter-extremism messages.